Document and Entity Information (USD $)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2013	Jun. 28, 2013	Feb. 21, 2014 Class A Common Stock	Feb. 21, 2014 Class B Common Stock
Entity Information [Line Items]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2013
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2013
Trading Symbol	MSO
Entity Registrant Name	MARTHA STEWART LIVING OMNIMEDIA INC
Entity Central Index Key	0001091801
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding			30,624,508	25,984,625
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	No
Entity Public Float		$ 70,555,117
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No